Print Spooled Document First - How to adjust printer spooling
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Sometimes you need a printout immediately. Other times, you want to keep working while Windows prints in the background. You can control both situations by adjusting your printer’s “Spool Settings” and managing the Windows print queue.
Because software can send print data much faster than a physical printer can put ink or toner on paper, Windows uses a print “spooler” as a buffer. When you click Print, your document is first sent to the spool (a temporary holding area) and then delivered to the printer at the speed the printer can handle.
If you need a print immediately, you can set Windows to start printing as soon as it has enough data to produce the first page. This can get pages coming out faster, but your application may pause briefly while the first part of the job spools.
If you prefer to keep working without interruptions, you can tell Windows to wait until the entire document is spooled before printing. This pushes more of the work into the background, so your application can finish sending the job and return control to you sooner.
To configure the printer’s Spool Setting, open the Printers area in Windows, right-click the printer you want to adjust, and select “Properties.” In the printer’s Properties window, find the section for job spooling (often labeled “Spool Settings” or located under an “Advanced” or “Details” tab, depending on your Windows version).
In the Spool Settings dialog box, enable “Spool print jobs so program finishes printing faster.” Then choose either “Start printing after last page is spooled” (best for working while printing) or “Start printing after first page is spooled” (best when you want output as soon as possible).
If you need a job to print as fast as possible, you can select “Print directly to the printer,” which bypasses the spooler. Note: If the printer is shared on a network, printing directly may be unavailable unless you have permission to change sharing settings.
If the printer is nearby and you want to avoid noise or interruptions, you can pause printing. Right-click the printer icon and select “Pause Printing.” When you’re ready—such as when you step away for a break—select “Pause Printing” again to resume and let the printer work while you’re away.
On some older Windows versions (such as Windows 2000 or Windows XP), you can schedule exactly when a document prints. First, pause the printer before printing the document. Then open the print queue by double-clicking the printer icon, right-click the document in the queue, select “Properties,” and use the “Schedule” section to set “Only from” and choose the time window when you want the job to run.
If you have administrator rights, you can also set a time interval when the printer is available instead of scheduling each job. Open the printer’s Properties, go to the “Advanced” tab, and set the “Available” time window for when the printer can accept and print jobs.
For quick access to different printing behaviors, you can install another copy of the same printer with a different default configuration. Use the “Add Printer” option and choose “Keep existing driver” when prompted. Then give the new printer a descriptive name, such as “Lunchtime LaserJet,” to match how you plan to use it.
After creating multiple printer configurations, you can select the one you want from the Print dialog whenever you print. You can also create desktop shortcuts for convenience. For example, you can drag a document onto a “Lunchtime LaserJet” shortcut so it prints during your scheduled window and is ready when you return.
You don’t have to stick with Windows’ default printing behavior. By adjusting spooling options and using the print queue effectively, you can print immediately when speed matters—or schedule printing for later when productivity and quiet time matter most.